NICK CAVE: UNTIL

Until is American artist Nick Cave’s most ambitious project to date. Comprised of thousands of found objects which together make us feel as if we have entered a rich sensory tapestry and stepped directly inside the belly of one of Cave’s iconic Soundsuits.

Nick Cave’s first Soundsuit, made out of twigs, was a direct response to the Rodney King beating, a visual image about social justice that was both brutal and empowering. Just as the violence around the Rodney King beating was the impetus to Cave’s early work, the death of men such as Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, and Michael Brown drives his new imagery for Until. For Cave’s Carriageworks installation, Until — a play on the phrase ‘innocent until proven guilty’, or in this case ‘guilty until proven innocent’ he addresses issues of gun violence, gun control policy, race relations, and gender politics in America and its resonance across the world.

Cave has come to see himself as a messenger, endeavouring to coalesce communities and discuss important issues. ‘I view this work as an elaborate community forum, as much as a work of sculpture,’ notes Cave. As such Until at Carriageworks will become a stage for international and Australian artists who will create and present work and lead discussions in partnership with Sydney communities.

NICK CAVE: UNTIL WAS ORGANISED BY MASS MOCA, NORTH ADAMS, MA AND CO-PRODUCED BY CARRIAGEWORKS, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, AND CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, BENTONVILLE, AK. PRINCIPAL SUPPORT WAS PROVIDED BY AN ANONYMOUS GIFT. MAJOR EXHIBITION SUPPORT WAS PROVIDED BY THE HORACE W. GOLDSMITH FOUNDATION, THE BARR FOUNDATION, THE MASSACHUSETTS CULTURAL COUNCIL, THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS, JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, MARILYN AND LARRY FIELDS, BEADKRAFT, AND THE ROBERT LEHMAN FOUNDATION, AND A PROGRAM OF THE J.M. KAPLAN FUND CURATED BY DENISE MARKONISH (MASS MoCA) WITH CURATORIAL PRODUCTION FOR CARRIAGEWORKS BY BEATRICE GRALTON.
IMAGE JAMES PRINZ PHOTOGRAPHY, 2016